Distance
by sugarandtangerines
Summary: Henry is sick upon his return from Neverland. Emma needs to return to the Enchanted Forest to retrieve the one thing that can cure her son and she needs Hook's help to do it. The use of unstable magic adds seemingly impossible obstacles to their quest which test their strength, trust, and hearts.


As a parent you will do anything to keep your children healthy and happy. While I have been a mother for twelve years, I have only been a parent for two. My first, and what I always assumed was the last, parental decision was to give my son up for adoption. To give him the chance to have a stable home with parents who could provide for him, not a woman who was stuck in a jail cell for trusting the wrong man. Ten years later I was found by that little boy who had been placed in a home where he was healthy and up until recently, happy. Which then led me to a second decision. Knowing that it's better for him to go back to that family that had obviously raised a smart kid. That choice snowballed into a life that I never dreamed of. Wicked witches, dragons, curses, princes, princesses, pirates, freaking Neverland! Most mornings I still shake my head as it all sinks in all over again. I'm a savior, I'm a mother, I'm a parent, and now my child is sick.

For the first week after we returned from Neverland, Henry stayed at Regina's. He was quiet even for himself and just seemed run down. We all thought it was him adjusting to everything that happened with Pan but when he started physically getting sick my gut was telling me otherwise. Whale assured us it was the flu. Rest and fluids. I should have pushed. I should have insisted and listened to my gut. If we had known earlier we may not be in this mess. If I had trusted myself it's entirely possible that my son wouldn't be laying on his bed, unresponsive.

"Anything?" Neal and I are on either side of Henry along with Regina and Gold. They're both trying to scan him for magic to see what could possibly be causing the decline in his health.

"It takes time, Miss Swan." Gold shushes me and closes his eyes. My son, I've hardly gotten to be with him and now this. I both love and hate this magical town. There's always something.

"He's positively radiating magic but-" Regina's eyes snap open and she pulls the collar of his striped pajama shirt to the side. Dark veins are visible and before she even shoves his shirt up to look, I know that it's radiating from his heart. "No, no." She angrily stands up and heads for the door before thinking twice, scoffing and disappearing in a puff of purple smoke.

"Papa? Fill me in? What's with the- whatever that is?" Neal is holding Henry's hand and looking to his father for information. I have no idea what it means either and I push his wet hair off of his sweaty forehead, trying to will away whatever is afflicting him.

"That would be an ailment of the magical variety. It seems that his body has been fighting off a large amount of magic. I don't know just what has forced said magic into his body but he simply cannot handle it. We need to draw the magic out but I fear that I don't have anything strong enough to contain it."

My mind is racing through every single magical item I have seen in this tiny town. How could none of them be enough to contain the magic currently coursing through him?

"Could you channel it? Could you give it to me?" I ask. "Surely, the savior can handle a boatload of magic."

"Exactly, whether you have it mastered or not, you are already chock full of magic. Add anything more than what you already have and you will be far worse off than Henry." I stare at Gold and judging by the look on his face he knows that I don't care and he steps back. "Alas, I still can't simply take his magic and give it to you."

I place my hands on Henry's exposed chest. Fingers covering the raised veins that are growing before my eyes and concentrate. I'm magic. I'm a shit ton of magic and as I focus on him I feel a cold energy pulsing beneath my skin. I can feel the tingling spread through my own veins and it makes it hard to breathe. Every bit of me is at war with whatever this is and I force myself to suck it up and continue trying. Tears are falling and my knees are starting to buckle with what feels like more weight than I could possibly bear.

"Emma!" Neal is pulling me away from Henry and the magic slowly drains back out of me, thick like sludge. "Stop, Emma! You're no good to him if it kills you too!" My arms have darkened, everywhere that I felt his magic is now a lacy purple splotch. Almost as if it is tethered to his body physically the magic slips from me and back into him. I take a moment to feel defeated as I return to normal and see him gradually get worse.

"It's dark magic." I mumble. "It feels like death and he's just swimming in it."

David and Mary Margaret come in. I had run from our breakfast at the table when Regina called me about Henry this morning and I never got a chance to fill them in. "Regina stopped by the loft and demanded any magical items we may have. As she snooped-" Mary Margaret sent David a look at his choice of words and he cleared his throat, "As she searched, she told us that he has dark magic in him?"

I nod my head because, really, what else is there to say? Mary Margaret's face crumbles and she pulls me in for a hug while she badgers Gold with a million questions. When Regina returns she's holding a large red amulet but she doesn't look hopeful.

"This once harnessed the power of a dragon, it's the best that I can do." We all sit quietly by as she begins trying to draw out the darkness. I can't help bug wonder what happened to that dragon. Was it let loose back in the Enchanted Forest? Did she let it loose here? I'd gladly slay another dragon if it meant that Henry would open his eyes and ask what was going on. My parents and Neal all look on, willing the thing to work but Gold is standing back looking off to the side as he leans into the bright white wall of Regina's immaculate house. The red gem quickly turns black and before Henry's skin gets anywhere close to normal it cracks and quickly floods back into Henry. Mary Margaret clings to David while Regina and Neal hold onto the boy who is looking smaller by the minute.

My mind fills with scenarios, none of which will work. My last idea is my only hope. "What if I take him over the town line? There's no magic out there, right?" All eyes turn to me but Regina still looks frustrated.

"We don't know what the magic has done to him. If you take him out, the sudden lack of any magic could kill him. I think, I don't know. Do we risk it?" Is she seriously asking me?

"We have to do something!" I can feel my magic crackling around me. I may have practiced in Neverland with Regina but I still don't have complete control over it. Everyone has taken a step back further and I breathe deeply to try and keep it in check. Like my emotions, it remains just beneath the surface. I feel like I could quite possibly just burst with frustration.

"There is one last thing." Gold speaks up.

"Anything!" Regina and I both yell at him.

"I have one last item that could possibly contain such energy."

"Your dagger?" Mary Margaret asks.

"No, that is a unique magic all it's own. I have a crystal, pure, untouched, that would be an ideal vessel for this energy."

"Why haven't you said anything before?" Regina's eyes are blazing with fury.

"It's not here. It's back in the Enchanted Forest."

"Last I checked we were out of magic beans." This hopeless solution he has given us has me pacing, racking my brain. Neal removes himself from Henry's side and pulls me into a hug. I stop moving but I don't embrace him back. We haven't even had time to try and figure out what to do about each other since my admission back in Echo Cave. This past week has had me seeking him out just to remind myself that he's here and alive and, at times, it has had me fleeing from him because suddenly the town just doesn't feel large enough for the two of us. With Henry laying there I'm not sure where we stand at the moment so I just let him hug me, more for his comfort than for my own.

"We are, but I have one last spell. It requires a lot of power, some of which we can tap into through Henry but it's still unstable." Gold keeps his beady eyes on his son. In all the time that I've known him he's never done something just out of the goodness of his heart. There has always been an ulterior motive to benefit him in some way and I wish I knew what it is this time. Could it truly just be that he's doing this for his son? "The spell will open a single portal back to the forest but where or when, is unknown. Once that portal is crossed, time will cease here until it is reopened upon your return. Like I said though, it is very unstable magic. It's entirely possible that it can alter your memories, anything. I really don't have any way of knowing what could happen to you. Getting back will carry the same risks, though they are highly unlikely, they are possible."

Neal's hands cup my face and he smiles. "See, Emma? Everything will be fine. I'll go over, grab the crystal-"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Bae." His look of hope slips and his hands drop away from my face but a hand grasps one of mine. "It will require a certain amount of magic to obtain the crystal and more to reopen the portal on the way back. Regina and I will need to work together to open it. You, Emma, are the only other person with enough power to accomplish this task on the other side. I'd suggest writing yourself a note so you don't forget your mission should the magic play tricks with your memory."

Of course, when doesn't something require my magic touch? I wouldn't leave Henry's safety in anyone else's hands anyway but this song and dance of being the savior is slightly tiresome.

"What are we waiting for?" I slip on my red leather jacket and tuck my hair behind my ears. "Draw me a picture of this rock and give me a location." My parents and Neal all offer to go with me but I shake my head. "If by chance anything goes wrong with the spell on this side, Henry will need you all here. _I_ will need you to be here for him." A look to my son and my heart breaks at any number of outcomes to this. Here I go, leaving him again to give him his best chance. Once again he doesn't know what's happening or the dangers of it, but I'm forced to walk away, nevertheless, trusting someone else to keep him safe in my absence.

Gold is holding out a tiny scroll with a picture of a ring. A ring that looks like every other ring in the universe. Gold band, large round diamond. "Fear not, this ring will seek out your magic when you get close enough to it. Which brings you to your next dilemma. This is a highly sought after ring. It can contain any magic, big or small, light or dark, all of it. I could never have it near me for fear that it could be used against me. I sealed it in a rift that moves. Once every fortnight it will move locations. So, you see, I cannot tell you where it is. I can, however, give you this." He makes a round glass orb appear in his palm. "The rift is sealed with my magic but once you cross over, this orb will be able to show you a map of the realm and the location of the rift. Your magic will suffice in opening it. Once you have it in your possession use the spell on the back of the picture and you will be right back here. With any luck, intact."

"Two weeks!" Mary Margaret shouts. "The realm is vast, it'll be nearly impossible without teleportation or quick transport. So few people know her there, if she needs help-"

Quick transport. "Hook." I breathe. I can't believe I need the pirate again.


End file.
